Chapter 509: Seeing Old Tang Again (Part 1)
Tan You’s hearing was especially good; she could even hear the sophomores and juniors talking about her. Tan You had never imagined that, one day, she would become famous enough for the whole school to know who she was.
Yin Xiu, who was standing in front of Tan You, heard the chatter and whispered in her ear, "How does it feel?"
Tan You kept her face stiff and expressionless. "It feels just great."
Yin Xiu burst out laughing, but she quickly stifled it when she received Tan You’s death glare. "Well, just from standing next to you, a lot of people probably recognize me now. It’s not a bad feeling."
Tan You ignored her. ’It’s just one test score,’ she thought. ’Eventually, everyone will calm down.’
Her mind was now completely focused on the upcoming lunch break. She wondered if Teacher Tang knew about her current grades. Looking back, besides her own family, the teacher she felt the most guilt toward was Teacher Tang.
Her former homeroom teacher was a classic example of someone who was gruff on the outside but soft on the inside, with a cold exterior that hid a warm heart. He seemed aloof, but he actually cared about her a great deal. When she was obsessed with reading novels, Teacher Tang had pulled her aside for a heart-to-heart talk on more than one occasion.
Looking back now, Tan You finally understood that it was rare to meet a teacher who genuinely had your best interests at heart. Such people were a precious gift.
The third and fourth periods of the morning were math class. When Li Fugui entered the classroom, he first handed a printed-out grade sheet to Tan You. After noticing the math competition problems spread out on her desk, Li Fugui winked.
"Can you solve them?"
Since class hadn’t started yet, he simply sat down by the lectern, initiating an impromptu Q&A session with Tan You.
Tan You smiled. "They look pretty interesting. Every problem is like a puzzle to be solved."
Li Fugui shook his head. "Don’t ask me if you get stuck; I can’t make heads or tails of that stuff. And don’t let it interfere with your regular studies."
Tan You nodded. "I understand. I won’t."
Cao Haiyan pouted. ’With grades like hers, how could anything possibly interfere with her studies? Her scores are already practically perfect. How is anyone else supposed to catch up? During military training, I figured her grades were probably decent, but no one expected them to be *this* good.’
The class bell rang. Li Fugui stood up and cleared his throat. "Alright, class is in session. Today, we’re going to review the placement test papers. For this placement test, the student who came in first is..."
"Tan You!" the class shouted in unison, and all eyes landed on her. Tan You kept a straight face. ’How many more times do I have to go through this?’ she thought. ’I don’t know how much more I can take.’
Li Fugui chuckled. "Since everyone already knows, I’ll keep it brief. On this placement test, Tan You not only ranked first in our class, but also first in the entire freshman year, and she also placed first in all nine individual subjects."
"You all see Tan You studying at her desk during every break. That shows you how dedicated she is. Everyone should learn from her example."
The math class representative chimed in, "But we can’t even understand the problems Tan You works on."
"Yeah, how are we supposed to learn from that?"
Li Fugui faltered for a second. ’These kids aren’t so easy to fool,’ he thought. "Why is Tan You able to work on extra material? It’s because her foundation is solid. She takes her regular studies seriously, which is why she has time to pursue extracurricular learning."
"I’d be eternally grateful if you all just managed to master the material in the textbook. Now, let’s begin the lesson..."
While Li Fugui lectured at the front of the room, Tan You zoned out, staring at her math competition problems. Their dynamic was simple: he would teach his lesson, and she would do her own work. They stayed out of each other’s way.
So, Li Fugui decided to leave her be. Tan You had already proven herself with her grades, and reining her in now would only hold her back. If her studies ever actually suffered because of it, he would definitely step in and have a talk with her.
During the lunch break, Tan You brought her grade sheet to the ninth-grade teachers’ office. As it happened, several teachers were inside. When she took a second look, she cringed so hard her toes curled. Apart from her former ninth-grade homeroom teacher, Teacher Tang, nearly all of her other former subject teachers were there too.
Seeing the poorly-concealed look of triumph on the face of her chemistry teacher, Teacher Li, Tan You knew this had to be his doing. Teacher Li was young, not much older than a recent college graduate, and still had a playful side, often joking around with his students.
He wasn’t like other teachers who grew more and more stern with their students the longer they taught.
Teacher Li was unfazed by Tan You’s glare and even beckoned to her. "Come on in. What are you doing just standing there in the doorway?"
Tan You forced her expression into a neutral mask. "Teacher Li, your office isn’t here."
"Teacher Tang, Mr. Chen, Teacher Hu..."
After greeting them all, Tan You’s expression finally returned to normal.
Teacher Tang looked at Tan You and sighed. "Weren’t you here to show me your grade sheet?"
Tan You took a deep breath and handed him the grade sheet. Teacher Tang glanced down. Tan You’s name was right at the top. Although he had already heard the news, seeing her scores for himself still filled him with a complex mix of emotions.
"A perfect score in math? And chemistry, too? You only lost two points in physics." Her former physics teacher snatched the sheet and glanced at it. "Tan You, I’m going to have to criticize you. Why, of all subjects, did you have to lose points in physics?"
Tan You wanted to laugh but couldn’t bring herself to. Instead, she just stared anxiously at Teacher Tang.
Teacher Tang sighed. "I’m happy for you that you achieved such a good score. Keep working hard."
He didn’t bring up the past, simply patting Tan You on the shoulder. "Remember the lessons you’ve learned, and don’t repeat your past mistakes. The other teachers and I will be watching you. This is a fresh start, so study hard."
Tan You nodded solemnly. She could banter and joke with others easily enough, and she would even stand her ground and argue logically when faced with injustice. But when it came to her deepest emotions, she became tongue-tied and inarticulate.
Teacher Tang smiled, a look of relief on his face. "Alright, now that you’re here, let’s not dwell on the past. Let’s talk about something more pleasant. How’s high school treating you? Are you getting used to it?"
Tan You grinned. "It’s great. The teachers have all been looking out for me. Speaking of which... Teacher Li set this little gathering up today, didn’t he? Otherwise, why would all of you be here at the same time?"
The hard lines of Teacher Tang’s face softened. "Actually, it was Teacher Wang from Class 1 who told me. He thinks very highly of you and asked me a lot about you."
"He was pretty disappointed that you didn’t choose to study with him, but it’s a good thing that you have your own ambitions. You don’t need to worry about my feelings on the matter."
A warm feeling spread through Tan You. "I feel bad about Teacher Wang, but the major I want to pursue in the future isn’t closely related to chemistry. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be, and you can’t force that kind of thing."
"You’ve really matured," Teacher Tang said, looking at her with deep feeling. "It seems you truly settled down over the summer break. I used to think you were a bit flighty, but now, there’s a real calmness in your eyes."
Tan You replied, half-joking and half-serious, "Everyone has to learn their lesson eventually. I couldn’t just keep drifting along aimlessly forever."